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Jamie, left, and Bea Gallegos kiss after saying their vows while their adopted daughter Whitney Gomez, 15, stands near at the Pueblo County Courthouse in Pueblo, Colo., Friday, July 11, 2014. Technically, their state still does not recognize gay marriages. But that hasn't stopped hundreds of gay Coloradans from getting marriage licenses from two county clerks who argue they still have the legal right to provide them to loving couples. (AP Photo/The Colorado Springs Gazette, Julia Moss) (Julia Moss/AP)

During a ceremony last year in Boulder, Britney May and Stephanie Kanan shared a unique passage with 130 of their closest family members and friends. Words from a court ruling in which a Massachusetts judge said same-sex couples have the right to marry carried just as much meaning as May and Kanan's vows to love each other.

About a year later, the couple grinned down at their marriage license as they signed it at the Denver clerk and recorder's office Friday. The couple was one of several giddy pairs to walk into the office Friday afternoon.

Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall began issuing licenses to same-sex couples June 25, after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Utah ban on same-sex marriages. A total of 135 licenses have been issued in Boulder.

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Pueblo County Clerk Gilbert Ortiz followed them Friday. His office had issued 25 same-sex licenses by 4:15 p.m.

"Everybody was very happy," Ortiz said, "and it's been awesome."

Ortiz said it was the Boulder judge's decision that led him to start issuing the licenses.

"When I read that ruling I realized the scales had tipped in favor of individuals' rights to marry," he said.

From behind a long row of desks, clerks in Denver smiled and snapped photos of grinning couples on cellphones.

Jessie Finau, left and Stephanie Martinez talk after receiving their marriage license at the Pueblo County Courthouse, in Pueblo, Colo., Friday, July 11, 2014. Technically, their state still does not recognize gay marriages. But that hasn't stopped hundreds of gay Coloradans from getting marriage licenses from two county clerks who argue they still have the legal right to provide them to loving couples. (AP Photo/The Colorado Springs Gazette, Julia Moss) (Julia Moss/AP)

"It's surprising how important this feels," Kanan said. "It does feel different."

A steady flow of couples received their licenses Friday, according to William Porter, spokesman for the Denver clerk's office. Most of the couples live in Denver but two couples drove from Colorado Springs to receive their licenses.

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